Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Nov 20, 2009 2:42 pm Hi Fu and fellow H1's Its been a while for me since I checked in and gave an update on our build but we are slowly getting there and I will update my thread as soon as there is something a bit more substantial than just bricks and alot of scaffold. In the meantime I have been researching or trying to research landscape design and designers....... My questions are.......from what I can tell designers charge to come and talk to you about what your want ($250). they will then tell you how much it will cost to do your design. If you agree to this charge (?? thinking about $500)they will then do your design but then they charge you to use it. another $150. Does this all seem right?............it seems alot more than say, using an interior designer or decorator. Has anyone used a landscape designer before? and what are they rough charges. We only have about 170sqm to plan for......including 70sqm of verge. Cheers Any info will be welcome. Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 2Nov 20, 2009 3:42 pm That sure is right. Our skills and knowledge are grossly underestimated. The become a good designer there is a significant amount of study involved plus a ridiculous amount of natural skill to form a balance of art and science. This can take several years study and is similar to an architect. Then you require horticultural training amounting to between 3 and 5 years study full time. This is a science. Then also they need landscaping skills which requires further study or experience. This is a highly legitimate trade that is continuously undermined by cowboy landscapers who have no or little horticultural knowledge or training doing very substandard work at very cheap rates comparatively, although the job will look great when it's done just not in a few months or at best a year. best practices are not adhered to. This is why I always suggest using someone from the landscape association. Get it right and it will make your home for years to come. Get it wrong and it can devalue your home and cost a heap of cash in maintenance costs and environmental costs. with all that behind creating your design they need to protect their intellectual property. Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 3Nov 20, 2009 4:02 pm My recommendations would be... http://www.sustainableoutdoors.com.au/ http://www.inspiredbynature.biz/ Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 5Nov 21, 2009 5:36 am Fu Manchu That sure is right. Our skills and knowledge are grossly underestimated. The become a good designer there is a significant amount of study involved plus a ridiculous amount of natural skill to form a balance of art and science. This can take several years study and is similar to an architect. Then you require horticultural training amounting to between 3 and 5 years study full time. This is a science. Then also they need landscaping skills which requires further study or experience. This is a highly legitimate trade that is continuously undermined by cowboy landscapers who have no or little horticultural knowledge or training doing very substandard work at very cheap rates comparatively, although the job will look great when it's done just not in a few months or at best a year. best practices are not adhered to. This is why I always suggest using someone from the landscape association. Get it right and it will make your home for years to come. Get it wrong and it can devalue your home and cost a heap of cash in maintenance costs and environmental costs. with all that behind creating your design they need to protect their intellectual property. In some Universities , Landscape Architecture is in the The Professions Faculties, in others, Sciences and other different again. Point is, it requires study and is a profession with an association. Anybody could probably 'design' (and I use the word loosley), a garden but would it be any good etc,? Very much doubt it. I am going down that path to at least use one for some ideas to think about and am willing to pay for their time. I am doing the same with building inspector. Independent of inspections, paying for some advice re site cut and retaining options. It's funny, but 'we' (bit of a generalisation) seem to hold a view of what we should pay good money for and what we should not. Some would not think twice about paying 5k (or more) for super duper TV/home theatre or $3k for sofa or $$$ for cars etc but when it comes to paying for someones time (who invested heavily to get the knowledge) we don't like to or think it's a rip off yet it is a very small portion of the overall investment. Ho Hum Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 6Nov 21, 2009 9:54 am Fu Manchu My recommendations would be... http://www.sustainableoutdoors.com.au/ http://www.inspiredbynature.biz/ Thanks Fu, 1 of those was actually on my top 5.....so thats a positive. Its just something I had never considered or looked into or even have known anyone that has used this profession so I had no prior information............its amazing how you can have no notion of something before you start and then as soon as you start the ball rolling it becomes something you get completely bogged down in. I am now sorting through all my research to see if its really a path I want and can afford to take. Thanks for your help. Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 7Nov 21, 2009 9:03 pm hey GwelupHome just thought I'd post and say I love how your new place is coming along. I drove past it. ( well ok drove into the street and stopped ) today at about 8.30 before i headed to karrinyup shops. Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 8Nov 21, 2009 10:00 pm Don't get bogged down in it all. I know after speaking with Annie today ( ), that all our skills and knowledge can feel like a mountain to try and absorb to get your head around. Best to keep things simple. You have already taken on the biggest part, how to choose a landscape professional. You understand what is associated with it. You need to work out what purpose you have in mind for the garden or outdoor space. Work out what plants you like the look of, not so much names etc (although they can be helpful) but just a look you have in mind. Think of three basic layouts for the outside so the designer has some options to play with. Where do you want a veggie garden or a BBQ or a spa or a pool. Patio structures, where do you want those and how to capture as much winter sun as possible so keep in your head where the winter shade is and summer sun at the moment during construction. Strappy plants, soft foliage, colours, trees are all descriptions you will want to pay attention to. I would strongly suggest Australian plants as options rather than the usual cordylines and grasses that every house has. Our WA options when done well will provide an exciting garden compared to other verbatim gardens. They are going to bring wildlife into your property and provide an easy option for styles. Do you have a neighbour you want screened from view? Make sure you have an ability to do it. Often I see people who want to grow a climber to hide a fence or provide a screen but they have a tiny space for a little pot or a little square out of the concrete for where they planed to have this plant. They won't grow to give a result in those circumstances so don't spend the money on hardscaping without knowing what the area needs to achieve the purpose you have in mind. ie, is a plant the answer or a hard structure? A visit to Kings Park is a must for some amazing sustainable landscape ideas. They have very well landscaped gardens using WA plants. All are marked so you can get photos and notes on what they are and how they will look This business of low maintenance gardens are really a furfey. No garden is low maintenance. They all need attention. Low maintenance doesn't mean no maintenance as many perceive it to be or have landscapes sold to them as. low maintenance will result in a disposable garden landscape. 3 years and you'll be doing it all again. So be realistic in your ideas and concepts. This will further assist the designer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they have to be hard work, just require some attention. Hard coverings like paving or liquid limestone need to be considered. If using large paved areas maybe thing about drainage first. Think about future requirements of the garden, ie do you want to incorporate a grey water system and rain water tanks? Where would you put them? look at having pipe in the ground now ready for such things to be connected into your irrigation maybe? Perhaps a central in ground tank is a good idea, have it connected to your laundry and toilets. Install the irrigation manifold above ground to save on maintenance costs in the future. On a wall / fence like mine is Keep it close to where your laundry area and toilets perhaps are so a grey water system can be incorporated later on at absolute minimal cost. Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 9Nov 22, 2009 11:43 am Fu Manchu Don't get bogged down in it all. I know after speaking with Annie today ( ), that all our skills and knowledge can feel like a mountain to try and absorb to get your head around. Best to keep things simple. You have already taken on the biggest part, how to choose a landscape professional. You understand what is associated with it. I know that after speaking to Fu today ( ) that planning is the most important aspect of landscaping. However, I was telling Fu that the more I learn, the more I realise I need to learn, which makes me all confused and panicky that I'm going to stuff it up! After Christmas when things have settled down and I'm not so busy then I'm really going to get stuck into the landscape planning and work on it steadily over a number of months to come up with something I'm really happy with. I've already been planning and learning for most of this year, but it will be time to get serious about it in the new year! Lisa Passmore's site (for her business "Inspired By Nature" as listed above) has a really good client questionnaire that is freely available to download from her site. It can help you get started thinking about what you want. http://www.inspiredbynature.biz/contact.php From meeting Lisa, doing a 4 week course with her about the principles of landscape design, and seeing lots of her photos and hearing her views and opinions on landscape design.... you could do a lot worse than employ her as your "landscape professional" (I like that term better than "designer", Fu, because they do so much more than simply "design"!). The other thing I found helpful is finding pictures that just "speak to you" and you fall in love with, even if you don't understand why. Simon's site ("Sustainable Outdoors" - the other one listed) has that pic / banner thingy up the top (forgotten what you call this part!) and I have fallen in love with that! So I've added it to my collection of pictures that inspire me and make me feel good. Eventually I think you spend enough time thinking about it that your brain kinda subconsciously comes up with some good ideas! I would be more than happy to have either of these 2 companies design my landscaping. However, I've decided to try it myself because I have a few good friends in the industry and offers of help. I've invested quite a lot of money and time already in learning about landscaping - 2 courses and a few seminars plus countless hours on here (and plenty of time bugging Fu ) so I want to give it my best shot with assistance from friends "in the know". If I hadn't done all this learning and be lucky enough to have 'useful' friends ( ) then I would seriously be considering outside help at this stage! I didn't try to build my house without professional assistance (I laugh every time I imagine how that would've looked!) so I can't say I want less for my garden! My tac-home-ter: Been in 8 months! Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 10Nov 22, 2009 8:42 pm kexkez hey GwelupHome just thought I'd post and say I love how your new place is coming along. I drove past it. ( well ok drove into the street and stopped ) today at about 8.30 before i headed to karrinyup shops. Hey KK, Aw thanks.....we are starting to get a little more excited with each stage and its all starting to become a closer to reality...... how was Karrinyup.....madness I heard. Did you have a walk around or just stop in the car? I used to love having a wonder through builds trying to picture what people were doing. One day we caught randoms wondering through and it took me a bit by surprise until I remembered how much I love to do it. Especially if you want a feel for something. .....we actually drove to Margarets 2 weeks ago and wow how good is the new freeway for travel through the Southwest.......fanbloodytastic. I was thinking how you come up so often it must be beneficial. Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 11Nov 22, 2009 8:54 pm Thanks Fu and Annie for your imput also, I completely understand your points of view considering the profession I am in its not anything I would disagree with. Its simply a cost factor. I see it all the time, scrimping and saving on things that you know are important because you have invested alot of your time, energy and in some cases life to educating those who don't really understand the importance. Again I know as I struggle with the competition of every cowgirl and sometimes boy who get told by a well meaning relative that their decor and home design is simply stunning and they should go into business and under charge and scare real clients off ever using our services again, but unfortunately thats the nature of the game. I will do more of my own research but can also see the benefits of a simple 1 off consultation that may answer just a few questions I need answering. For that reason I am not sure I can part with close to $1000 for just a few ideas. I suppose we have a very clear idea of what we want and we are prepared to do it all ourselves as we have done in the past but we have only budgeted about $5000 for our little backyard and for me $1000 is alot of plants. As I have said I will research it through to the end before making our final decision and I thankyou for your thoughts as it makes it seem more beneficial. Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 12Nov 23, 2009 4:40 am gweluphome kexkez hey GwelupHome just thought I'd post and say I love how your new place is coming along. I drove past it. ( well ok drove into the street and stopped ) today at about 8.30 before i headed to karrinyup shops. Hey KK, Aw thanks.....we are starting to get a little more excited with each stage and its all starting to become a closer to reality...... how was Karrinyup.....madness I heard. Did you have a walk around or just stop in the car? I used to love having a wonder through builds trying to picture what people were doing. One day we caught randoms wondering through and it took me a bit by surprise until I remembered how much I love to do it. Especially if you want a feel for something. .....we actually drove to Margarets 2 weeks ago and wow how good is the new freeway for travel through the Southwest.......fanbloodytastic. I was thinking how you come up so often it must be beneficial. well i just stayed in the car but perhaps next time i'll get out. I can say you told me to have a peek Actually we don't use the new freeway/highway completely. I actually find it a bit boring. because we are inland from Bunbury I tend to do half the journey the way I've been doing it for the past, almost 2 years. Up sw hwy via brunswick J, Waroona and Pinjarra. and now I tend to cross across to the new bit after that. I usually make my mind up about which way I'm going to go after I start driving. As for karrinyup I decided it was too early to go straight there so I went and had a coffee with the inlaws who live around the corner from the shops and then got to k at about 9.30. I was out of these again by 10.20. and that included a quick gossip with a friend who works in the sheep skin shop and quick browse in big w and **** smiths at their printers and then off to my goal, some purchases from the body shop. Re: Landscape design costs or any recommendations..... 13Nov 24, 2009 11:59 pm Hi Gweluphome, I'm guessing you are i WA from your name. We have a landscape gardening company. I'm cert 4 hort. & garden design qualified but am more interested in doing the job and having a friendly client for years. We don't charge to come and look and talk with you about what you want.If you then want a concept drawing we charge $400. However if the job is only small and you have some vision and we can sit down and go thru ideas and plant preferences we can give you ideas and a quotation without the cost of concept drawings. You can go onto my website if you want and look at some pics. Have many more to go on. http://verticalgardenswa.com.au/ Hope this helps if I'm not too late. Landscape Design Parramatta We have been doing a large amount of landscape design work in Sydney… 0 3 Looking to tile the facade pillars rather than rendering. Builder is quoting 2500$ laying cost for upto 10msq. The 2 pillars come to be 16msq. So laying costs are 5000$… 0 7523 Need advice on the backyard plan above. 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